AMJ Financial Blog

Monthly Archives: December 2015

It was a short week, but it wasn’t quiet. Oil prices moved higher, according to The Wall Street Journal, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported crude-oil inventories fell unexpectedly last year. Analysts had predicted oil supplies would rise. One expert cited by The Wall Street Journal suggested the stockpile decline and subsequent oil price… Read More

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2015 has been a tough year for investors. The data shows us that we should be thinking about how much market exposure to take on in portfolios. Since July of this year we have been tactically protecting portfolios from two major risks to equity market prices. Those risks have been: The Fed Sequential slowing of… Read More

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After a level of hype that would have exhausted even the most dedicated Star Wars fans, the Federal Reserve finally began to tighten monetary policy last week, raising the funds rate from 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent. Although financial markets appeared sanguine when the rate hike was announced, the calm dissipated quickly. The Standard &… Read More

December is historically a robust month in the Equity markets as measured by the S&P 500. This period of time has even given birth to the famed nickname the “Santa Clause” rally. This year, along with the strange El Nino Weather pattern in the Northeast, we are left to wonder is Santa Clause indeed going… Read More

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It’s not like it’s a surprise! Last week, investors didn’t appear to be thrilled with the possibility the Federal Reserve might raise rates this week. They also weren’t too impressed by another drop in oil prices. There was red ink everywhere as markets from Australia to Hong Kong, across the Eurozone, and throughout the Americas… Read More

The Markets Anyone looking at U.S. stock market performance last week might assume it was a pretty quiet week. They would be wrong. It was a very bouncy week. U.S. stock markets moved lower on Monday, rebounded on Tuesday, and then appeared to suffer a one-two punch mid-week that knocked indices lower. On Wednesday, the… Read More

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American markets were relatively quiet during Thanksgiving week but there were fireworks in China’s markets. Late in the week, media outlets reported the China Securities Regulatory Commission was conducting inquiries into several securities firms as part of an anti-corruption crackdown triggered by last summer’s wild market gyrations. The news sizzled through China’s stock markets. The… Read More